Silver Lining
by Delightfully Weird
Summary: *Revised Chapter 1 Now Up!* Three years after a rough break-up and leaving home for college, Morgan returns to Widow's Vale and starts to realize that things had changed for the worse, and that some things are hitting too close to home.
1. Chapter 1

**I have decided to take this story in an entirely new direction as I came to a standstill with the original. It has a similar storyline to the original, but will be in Widow's Vale instead of Winnie's home.**

**Hope you all like this new version!**

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><p>"Not to sound like a complainer—"<p>

"Even though it's in your nature," I interrupted, earning a swift kick to the thigh from Winnie.

"Why couldn't one of your parents come pick us up? That bus was revolting." Winnie said primly, readjusting her duffle's strap on her shoulder.

Winnie Allen was, for lack of a better word, a brat. English, snooty, and always had a backhanded compliment at the ready. Three years ago I had started school in New York City with Winnie, which, at the time, was a blessing in disguise. I had finally been able to breathe, think…live a relatively normal life and not have to hide who I was.

Because no one cared.

No one cared what religion I practiced, if I was a virgin or not, if I was lame for not having tattoos and piercings. I didn't have to answer to a rather judgmental family about my life choices. All I had to do was my school work and have fun on the weekends.

Winnie has been my roommate for the last three years, and had gotten me out of my shell. After having Bree for a best friend all these years, with her perfectly cut hair and flawless model-like figure, I had initially thought it was a slap to the face to have Winnie come into my life.

If Bree had the dark, edgy beauty, then Winnie was light and bubbly and just as obnoxiously gorgeous as Bree. No insecurities there. Even now after a hot, sweaty bus ride to Widow's Vale, her skin was pink and dewy, strawberry blonde hair in a perfect mess of a top knot, breasts propped up and on display.

I had pretty much been the same since puberty, with the exception of slighter wider hips and an actual cup size. My boring, one-length hair still fell past my waist. I was still only 5'6" and slender. I often wondered if I was cursed, or if it was just my lot in life to be surrounded by women who actually looked like women leaving me to have a girl's face with a boy's figure.

"Ah!" Winnie's shriek made me jump, and she dropped all of her bags and batted a spider web out of her face. "I _hate_ this!"

I rolled my eyes and helped her pick her bags back up. Winnie had a rolling suitcase, a duffel bag for hair and makeup, one for shoes and accessories, her purse, and her laptop bag.

How anyone could travel like that, I had no idea.

"Come on, we're almost there." I said, grabbing the handle of my suitcase. I waited for her to get situated and started walking again. "Need I remind you that _you_ were the one who wanted to come home with me this summer? I didn't _force_ you, Winifred. I didn't hold a gun to your head and demand you come here."

Winnie huffed and attempted a smile. "I'm sorry." She said with a sigh. "I'm tired, and I don't like public transportation, it's just so…dirty. Why do you think I walk everywhere?" she said, and then started walking again.

I shrugged. "To work off the calories from your martini addiction?"

"Thank you for inviting me," she said instead. "I really was not looking forward to my parents griping about how I've thrown my goddess-given gifts out the window. I don't want to have powers, or whatever it is that I have. I'm such a weakling in that area that I shouldn't have had this…curse in the first place. Unlike you."

I stopped, grabbing her arm to halt her. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Winnie wriggled out of my grasp. "You think we all haven't heard your story?" she laughed to herself. "My god, try being me at home. My parents were absolutely floored hearing about this uninitiated prodigy. They wondered why I, a child raised that way and had been initiated, couldn't do what _you_ could. It's not so glamorous growing up this way, Morgan."

"I didn't say it was. It would've been a hell of a lot easier though, not having Catholic parents breathing down your neck about a fucking book being in the house or not going to church."

"That sounds wonderful to me." She said with a smile.

"Then you're in the right place—come on." I grabbed my suitcase handle again and trudged up the road and on to my street a few minutes later.

Winnie struggled up the driveway, so I took one of her duffle bags. "So how do your parents feel about boys in the house?"

I grinned, knowing this would come up. Winnie had a boyfriend she was dying to see, who was willing to fly out here from England. "They're fine with it," I said, and she smiled and squealed a bit, picking up her pace. She was halfway to the door when I added, "Downstairs, where my parents can see at all times."

She spun on her heel. "What?" she hissed. "Why?"

"How's the Catholic parent scenario sounding now?"

She just gaped at me, and I walked past her and opened the door. "They're still at work, and my sister won't be here till tomorrow morning."

Winnie came in, dropped her bags, and surveyed the downstairs. "This is really nice, very…homey."

"I believe that was their intention, yes." I said with a nod. "Come on,"

She followed me upstairs and into my room, which was exactly the same as I'd left it when I was eighteen. _Exactly_ meant that when I left it, I had still been with Hunter Niall. I still had a picture of us on my nightstand, still had his ridiculously comfy hoody hanging in my closet. I walked over to the nightstand and shoved the picture frame into the drawer without looking at it. I didn't need that right now.

"Where am I sleeping then?"

"Um… I think we have an air mattress in the attic," I said. "Otherwise we'll be sharing my bed, or you'll be sleeping on the couch."

"Fantastic." She muttered. "Well, I still feel grimy from that adventure we just endured, so I'm going to wash up."

I pointed to the door behind her. "Bathroom is right there, towels are in the cupboard."

I went downstairs and was greeted with a demanding mew. My cat, Dagda, was waiting impatiently for me to acknowledge him, his tail swishing. "Hi baby," I said, kneeling down to stroke him. He purred and flopped on his side in front of my feet, wanting his fill of attention.

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><p>"Have you figured out your major yet?" my mom asked me at the dinner table. We had just settled in to eat Mom's most famous meal—take out.<p>

I swallowed the bite of orange beef I'd taken and cleared my throat. "Not yet. I'm only 21, am I supposed to have my life figured out?"

My parents shared a look. "We're proud of your grades," my dad told me. "And then you seem to be adjusting well to living in the city."

"But?" I asked.

"We're just worried, honey." My mom answered. "After Hunter—"

I held my hand up to stop her. "I'm over it."

She clicked her tongue and started pushing food around on her plate. "All I'm saying is you really haven't had time to…grieve. He left, and you went to school, and haven't been home in three years."

"Grieve? God, he's not _dead_ Mom. You guys wanted me to go to school; he wanted me to go with him. I chose you guys. Can we please drop it? I love him, he loves me, but it didn't work out and that's that."

Another shared look.

"Who are we talking about?" Winnie asked, coming into the dining room.

My mom smiled up at her. "Hi Winnie. Did you get settled in okay?"

She nodded. "I did, thank you." She said, picking through the contents of the take out containers with her fork and placing a tiny bit of everything on her plate. "So who were you talking about?"

"My ex," I said, and then stuffed my mouth full again.

Winnie cut a piece of sesame chicken into a tiny chunk and stabbed it with her fork. "He exists?" she exclaimed. "She's never even told me his name."

I put more food on my still-full plate. It was going to be a long night.


	2. Chapter 2

The early summer heat was unrelenting in the great state of New York, and my back was hurting from having slept on the cool hardwood floor last night. My parents had had the _genius_ idea to "go green" and were attempting a summer with no air conditioning.

At eight in the morning, it was in the upper 70s, and I took advantage and decided to slip outside to the pool my parents had gotten installed the summer I was in Scotland. In one arm, I was carrying a CD player, a CD binder and a towel, and I was glad my parents had already left for work so they wouldn't catch me scantily clad in a black bikini.

I slid open the back door quietly—careful not to wake the sleeping Wicked Witch—and shut it firmly behind me. I tossed the towel on the concrete slab leading to the deliciously cool water and squatted to set down the giant yellow CD player my parents had gotten me for Christmas when I was sixteen and opened the top. I added in Death Cab, pressed play, and dropped myself deep in the water. It felt like heaven.

I floated to the top and lay on my back, wading through the water lazily as the cursed sun rose. I cast out my senses to find Winnie was still asleep. I shut my eyes and wished I'd had the foresight to bring sunglasses. I sunk down again, sitting on the floor briefly before my body pushed itself back up.

So far, being home wasn't bad. But I was dreading the H word, knowing it would eventually come up and I'd have to explain to Winnie who he is. It came up so quickly last night, and soon she'd be meeting my friends and they wouldn't be able to avoid the conversations.

I missed Hunter so much sometimes that I would call, wait for him to answer, and then hang up, knowing full well that he knew it was me on the other end. After a while he stopped answering.

It had been a mutual breakup.

He had the most amazing job of traveling for the New Charter, and he wanted me to be with him. I wanted to experience college for my parents' sake. Neither of us would budge, and we agreed to separate for a while. And a while turned into three years, and I was hurting every day because of it.

Per Winnie's insistence, I'd gone on dates, had hooked up with guys on our floor, but none of them mattered. I had always faked it and felt like a cheap whore afterwards. After the first guy—Riley something or other—I had cracked and found the nearest Catholic church and made my first confession in two years. It had gotten easier afterwards, felt like the norm for a Saturday night. Drinking, removal of clothing, a few moans here and there, and I was out the door and carrying my borrowed shoes in hand all the way back to my dorm room.

My mind did the dangerous thing and thought briefly of what Hunter would think of my casual behavior when it came to sex, and I sank back under the water as a sob tore at my throat. He was my first, I was still holding out hope he could be my last, but because of me he would never again be my only.

I wished so badly this water could cleanse me from the inside out.

I'd felt like this before, and after a while I would feel better and tell myself that it wasn't a big deal, that Hunter had been with other girls and that hadn't mattered—so when the time came that I saw him again, it wouldn't matter to him. And if it did, he'd be a hypocrite.

"Morgan?" I heard my name from beneath the water and popped up.

My little sister was standing there, dressed in a light summery blouse and shorts, her russet hair in a messy bun.

"Hey," I greeted with a smile, and she bent and paused my music. "How was the drive?" I asked, lifting myself out of the pool. She handed me my towel, and I wrapped it around myself.

"It was good, but I'm beat." She replied with a sleepy smile. I squeezed the water out of my hair and walked back into the house with her.

Winnie was just waking up, and I felt glad I got to see her this way—ratty hair, no makeup, dried drool on the side of her mouth… it definitely made living with her easier.

"Ready to join the living?" Mary K. teased, and Winnie groaned and turned on her front, burying her face in the couch cushion.

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><p>"Excuse you?" Mary K. said, dumbfounded by my thievery of her French fries. She swatted my hand as I plucked another off of her plate.<p>

We were at the blessedly air-conditioned diner, Winnie still half-asleep and unusually quiet. She fiddled with the straw in her water glass as she tried to keep her eyes open.

"Sharing is caring, sis." I grinned at her and took a bite of the salty perfection. Mary K. rolled her eyes at me.

"Where's Bree at?" Mary K. asked, sipping her Sprite.

I shrugged. I hadn't heard from Bree in months, the last bit of news was that she and Robbie had decided to call it quits because of distance and jealously, and I didn't blame them.

"She mentioned in an email that she might be home for the summer, but we'll see if that actually happens." I told her.

Mary K. scoffed. "Well no one thought you were going to come home…" she said, and I felt her unease at this topic. It hadn't been easy for my sister without me here. Sure she had her friends and boyfriend, but she didn't have me, and I knew how much it hurt both of us. "But I'm glad you did—I'm really happy you're back." She smiled at me, and I couldn't help but pinpoint the qualities of my sister that had changed over the last few years.

My sister had always been cute and curvy and adorable, but she used to be so naïve—it hurt that she had to be put in harm's way on more than one occasion just to mature. She had deserved to be the bubbly, care-free, normal girl she was born as. My presence had changed all that. I had inadvertently dragged her into a world that scared her. She had her whole life flipped upside down by my introduction to Wicca, and finding out that her older sister wasn't related by blood and that her parents had been lying to her. She'd been kidnapped by my ex-boyfriend's mother as a pawn to lure me in. She went through of period of distrust after lying to her about what happened with Cal. I'd almost been killed, several times, and she knew enough to fear for me.

I would never be able to give her reassurance that she'll be okay, that I'll be okay. And I hated myself for it.

Even now as a 19 year old, she was still cute, curvy, adorable, but wiser…stronger. She wasn't as fragile as she used to be. It was probably due in large part to her high school boyfriend Mark. He'd been her first, and she realized afterwards that they weren't meant to be, but she was glad for the experience.

Mary K.'s Blackberry went off, and she quickly typed a reply, her fingers lightning fast. She had adapted quickly to the technology age, and I could barely understand the little pink Motorola Razr my parents got for me so they could reach me at all times.

"I'm glad I'm back too," I told her once her phone was securely back in the pocket of her purse.

After we ate and paid, Winnie was looking more alert. We were heading out of the diner when Mary K. stopped suddenly in front of me, and I looked up quickly to see Bree Warren and Robbie Gurevitch coming in through the double doors.

Bree paused and smiled after a moment at me, and Robbie followed suit. "Hey, Morgan," she greeted me with a hug. I hugged her back. "I didn't know you were coming home."

"I didn't know you guys were either," I said, glancing between them. Robbie looked distinctly uncomfortable. "I thought you two were broken up?"

Robbie nodded. "We are, but we're still friends." He was now shifting and avoiding eye contact with us.

Bree glanced over to Winnie, and back to me. "Bree, this is my friend, Winnie."

"Nice to meet you," Bree told her politely. Winnie smiled back but said nothing. "Um…" she paused, glancing up at Robbie. "What're you guys doing tonight?" she asked us.

"Nothing much," I said.

"I have the house to myself—want to come over for a girl's night?" she offered.

Winnie laughed and nodded, startling me. She'd been a zombie all day. "Definitely. The Rowlands' couch is not meant for sleeping."

Bree snorted. "Oh, I know. Trust me. Mary K.?"

Mary K. sighed, looking up from her all-consuming Blackberry. "I'd love to, but Jaycee's having a bunch of people over for a little reunion."

Bree's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "You only graduated a year ago." She said blankly.

Mary K. looked defensive. "People change in a year," she said primly.

Bree held up her hands. "Okay, have fun," she rolled her eyes when Mary K. went back to phone. "So tonight, seven?"

"See you tonight," I said, and followed an impatient Mary K. out the door.

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><p><strong>I'm so sorry for the long wait, but I'm back and working on the next chapter! Please leave a review and thanks so much for staying with this story!<strong>

**PS, I've changed the year from the original version. This one is based in 2006, when the book's Morgan is 21. Hope that's not too confusing!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Happy New Year everyone! I have my computer for the first time in seven months and I'm back on the writing track. If you have any comments or suggestions, please leave a review. Thank you, Lovelies!**

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><p>"What's with the shifty eyes and awkward silence?"<p>

I had cornered Bree in her kitchen about an hour after we'd arrived. She played the role of attentive hostess perfectly, but I could tell she was dying to talk and not wanting to open a can of worms. Bree tensely stood by the sink, dropping strawberry tops down the drain as she sliced through the firm red flesh.

Setting the rinsed and cut berries into bowls for the three of us, she handed them to me. "Dinner should be done in about ten minutes." She said with a forced smile, glancing at the stove to read the timer.

I set the bowls down and rested my hand on hers clutching the counter top. "Bree. Please tell me what's wrong." I said softly, which must have hit a nerve because her normally clear and beautiful complexion reddened and her nose twitched at the sign of oncoming tears. Warning bells went off in my mind and I fervently tried to stave off the panic. "Bree," I whispered, not knowing what to do. It was so rare to see cool, totally self-assured Bree warren fall to pieces that I almost never knew how to handle it when it did happen.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this." She choked out through a sob. She ran a hand through her shoulder-length hair and took a shuddering breath. "We were supposed to graduate and move in together and I..." She paused and sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

"Like what?" I asked gently.

"He met someone." She got out, and I felt my stomach drop. I hadn't been told the details of their breakup, and I was irritated with myself that I hadn't figured it out.

But this was Robbie.

Robbie, who in junior year told me how he'd loved her forever. Robbie, who had gotten Bree to open herself up to him - against her own better judgement. Robbie, who never wanted anything more than his beautiful best friend to love him back. And she had.

"In his pre-law class. Her name is Anne. They both got into the same grad school. He thinks she's amazing, and she thinks she's better than me." Bree scoffed and let out a hint of a grin. "I've only felt this way once - when Cal chose you." she grabbed a paper towel from the holder and blew her nose.

I groaned inwardly. Would I ever live that down?

I touched my nose and said, "Should I tell her what the consequence of taking your man is?"

She laughed softly. "Did I ever apologize for that?"

I shrugged. "Doesn't matter now." I took the paper towel from her and wiped her tear-streaked cheeks. "So why were you guys at lunch today?"

Bree paled slightly and cleared her throat. "I'm pregnant." She said matter-of-factly.

"What?"

She chuckled at my expression. "You look like my dad when I told him. All wide-eyed and panicky." She took the paper towel back tossed it into the trash. "Morgan, I'm going to be fine. I have a job, my dad's helping me with a place in the city - his girlfriend and her daughter actually want to take me shopping for the baby. It's kind of weird."

"And you and Robbie?"

"Are going to be civil co-parents. He doesn't want to be with me anymore, and I won't use the baby to force his hand. We're just not meant to be." She gave me a watery smile and waved her hands in her face to cool herself off and prevent new tears.

"You're coming back to New York then?" I asked, hoping I wasn't sounding selfish.

She nodded. "The West Coast is just not for me." She said simply, and I reached out and pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you."

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><p>"I'm not going to be able to sleep now." Winnie whined, her face buried into a pillow at the end of the plush leather couch.<p>

Bree laughed and I rolled my eyes and finished off my pizza. "You wanted to watch it. And how would you not have thought a movie called 'The Skeleton Key' would be a horror movie?"

She groaned and turned on her side to face us. "Bree, maybe you could answer some questions for me."

Bree bit her pizza crust and violently tore off a chunk. "Like what?" She said, uncharacteristically speaking with her mouth full.

"Morgan's supposed ex?"

I huffed and polished off my third can of Diet Coke. Bree glanced at me before carefully replying. "What about him?"

"Who was he?" Winnie asked patiently.

"A guy Morgan loves and dated for a few years." She shrugged and flipped through channels, finally stopping on MTV for a marathon of "The Hills."

Winnie sat up, her itty bitty tank top doing nothing to keep her breasts concealed. "What was his name? Where was he from? Why can't anyone tell me?"

"Because I don't like to talk about it." I snapped. "God, just give it a rest. I hate that I broke up with Hunter, I feel stupid and selfish everyday for it!"

Winnie frowned slightly. "Did you say Hunter?"

I sighed. I hadn't meant to say his name. Three years of hiding that and it slips out in a moment of annoyance. Way to go, Morgan.

"Yeah. So?"

She shook her head, strawberry blonde hair bobbing slightly on top. "My boyfriend's name is Hunter. Just weird is all." She smiled and drank the rest of her Sprite.

Bree and I shared a look, and she turned back to Winnie. "Where's this boyfriend at? England?"

Winnie nodded, her eyes on the screen. "Yeah. We met when we were kids. Our families are in the same coven."

I breathed, relieved. Bree seemed to relax too. "Childhood sweethearts then?"

She laughed. "No, I was a friend of his sister's. He traveled a lot for his assignments and I guess we didn't click until he came home a few years ago."

Nausea creeping up in three... two...

"He had a rough breakup, and I helped him through it."

One.

I roughly got off the couch and ran to the downstairs bathroom. I didn't puke. I just sat on the toilet lid and cried, burying my face in a decorative towel.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to hit everything in sight. I wanted to go outside and yell to the Goddess, begging for her to tell me why she did this to me. Why the person I loved with every fiber of my being was with my friend - and I'd been so blind!

Of course he had moved on! Of course it would be with a girl I knew! I deserved all of this and more, refusing to take the love I had been so blessed with. I deserved more than this. I deserved this pain. I had broken both of our hearts and for what? To please my parents? To live out the old Morgan's dream of going to college?

Why had I been so afraid to take that last step with him? He offered me the world and I said no. He gave me his heart and his love and his unwavering commitment, and I destroyed it.

Sitting there, in Bree's bathroom and feeling like a waste of space, I knew I would never forgive myself.

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><p><strong>I just edited this draft again, so that's why it was uploaded twice. Sorry! I don't have Word downloaded yet and Notepad is not working for me.<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

"Are you going to tell her?" Bree asked. She slid a mug of steaming coffee over to me, and I sipped it appreciatively.

"What would be the point?" I murmured, setting down the mug and stretching.

Neither of us had slept well. Winnie was asleep shortly after my breakdown last night, and Bree had known better than to pry. Until now.

She sighed and poured a glass of orange juice. "She's going to be staying with you for the summer. You have one more year with her. I just don't think you should burn your bridges with a friend because she unknowingly started dating your ex. That _you_ broke up with."

I felt Winnie start towards the kitchen and stood up, grabbing my phone. I went out to my car and felt grateful for the cool vinyl seats in the already warm morning air.

Knowing the number by heart, I called Hunter. I hesitated when I heard the click of him picking up but no answer.

"You knew, didn't you?" I asked softly, hearing the slight crack in my voice.

"Not until recently, no." he replied in defeat.

"Then why are you still with her?"

I knew I had absolutely no right to be angry or even remotely territorial, but reason was not my friend today.

Hunter scoffed. "Because _she_ doesn't break up with me when things are out of her control? Because I like her? Because she's not _you_? Take a guess Morgan, you'll probably be right, like you always think you are."

"She's my friend." I said, losing the fire behind it. His words had cut deep, right down to the bones in my useless body. "This is like you dating _Bree_! This means we will _never_ be able to be together again."

I heard the deep breaths that indicated he was keeping his temper in check. "I'm only doing what you asked for." His words held no weight anymore, and I felt my stomach tighten painfully. "I'm giving you what you asked for."

"I didn't ask for this," my eyes welled up with tears, and I took a shaky breath. "I just needed a couple of years. I didn't want this, Hunter."

He cleared his throat softly. "Well you're surviving just fine."

I laughed brokenly, wiping my face of the stray tears. "No, I'm not. I'm a mess."

"I'd agree with that." He said, his words holding no anger. "But you're not the only one."

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

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><p>Mary K. and I were the family room watching TV – it was far too hot to be outside. We had broken our mom's rule and cranked up the AC, making the house habitable once again.<p>

Winnie and I hadn't spoken at all since last night at Bree's, and she was out in the pool. Mary K, a lump in a bikini top – a top that would have been large on me but barely kept her together – and shorts on the loveseat, hadn't noticed the frosty exchange.

The house phone rang, and my sister and I both grumbled out, "Not it."

"Get it." She said on the second ring.

"You're closer." I argued, shifting on my side for better viewing.

Mary K. groaned and went to get the phone from the kitchen. When she came back a couple of minutes later, she grabbed her T-shirt from the floor and slipped it on, then curled back up on the plushy leather mound.

"Mom said you're making dinner tonight."

"I'm not cooking." I argued. "Not in this heat."

She sighed. "That's what I told her. She's picking up pizza after work."

I grinned at my sister, who smiled sleepily back at me. "Stay out late last night?"

She giggled, burying her face briefly. "Diane D'Alessio cried ten minutes after getting there because Steven broke up with her. Again. And she got drunk and cried. Again. Jaycee passed out at like ten. Mark and I got reacquainted in the guest room." She laughed and hid her face in a decorative pillow experiment my mom had tried her best at.

"Mary Kathleen." I chided her, shaking my head.

She leaned up on her elbows to look at me. "You're no saint, Sister." She arched a russet eyebrow at me. "How many guys have you hooked up with at your fabulous college parties? 20?"

I snorted. "God, no. A few. Only slept with two though."

"Multiple times." She supplied.

"A few times." I replied easily. "It seems like a lot more in my head than it actually is."

She lay back down again. "Remember when you told me you lost your virginity?"

I sat up and looked at her. She glanced up at me. "Yeah?"

"You said it was amazing. That it hurt a little but that it was the most magical thing, with flowers everywhere and it was under the moon in a little clearing and that it felt like it was just you two alone in the world. You said you would never feel more loved ever again."

My mouth felt dry. "And?"

She paused and then sat up and faced me. "Were you lying?" she asked softly. "Did it really happen that way, or was it in his bed, or his car, or here when Mom and Dad were at work and you just wanted to get it over with?"

I shook my head. "I wasn't lying." I said softly, and her shoulders sagged slightly. "But we did do it in his bed. And his car. And my car, come to think of it," she cracked a smile. "And maybe a few times when Mom and Dad were out, or you all were at church."

My little sister hugged her legs to her chest. "Do you know how lucky you are? Mark had music going that his brother gave him, and he had a few candles, and I guess I was lucky that he made an effort, and that it was his first time too, so he lasted all of thirty seconds." She grinned at that and released her legs, tucking them underneath her. "Second time was better."

"Infinitely better." I agreed.

"How could anything be better than what you had the first time?"

"Because I knew what to do the second time." I said. "Pretty much every time with him was amazing though."

She narrowed her eyes slightly. "Then why'd you break up with him?"

I shrugged. "Because sex doesn't fix everything."

Winnie came in, toweling off her hair. She'd put on cotton shorts that were starting to soak through and her light pink tank top did nothing to conceal the wet bikini underneath. "Feels _amazing_ in here!" she sighed and sat down next to me. "What's wrong now?" she asked, her voice concerned.

I shook my head.

"Morgan, I didn't know. You believe me, don't you?"

I cleared my throat and nodded. "I do. But it hurts."

Winnie huffed softly and leaned back against the sofa cushions. I felt my dad's car pull up and I turned on the news, knowing he'd want a quick look to be kept up-to-date on current events.

The perky weatherman Andy announced it had reached a hundred and three degrees today. _No shit._

"Hi girls," my dad greeted us, eyes immediately going to the screen when he'd walked in.

As if on cue, he left a minute later to go to his office. Some things never changed.


	5. Chapter 5

_I was wide awake, and there was no hope of changing that. Not when I felt the gnawing and grinding in my lower stomach that alerted me to the bad decision I was about to make. I glanced over at Hunter, still soundly asleep, and felt tears start to prickle in my eyes._

_I had thought this over time and time again. It wasn't__fair to either of us if he was going to be travelling everywhere, and I was going to stay put. Tomorrow I would be leaving Widow's Vale for New York. I'd made the decision to go to college, because it seemed like the necessary thing to do after you graduate from high school._

_Hunter hadn't seen it that way, but had sworn he would see me as much as possible. I risked a glance at him again and took a deep, shaky breath. He stirred slightly and opened his eyes. He smiled softly when he saw me and reached for me. I lay back down and allowed him to wrap me in his arms because who knew when I would feel this again._

_"__What's wrong?"_

_I sniffled. "You know what's wrong."_

_He sighed and relaxed his hold on me. "Morgan, it doesn't have to happen this way." He said, but he was already defeated. We'd been fighting all summer long about this, and it hadn't been resolved. Now I was definitely leaving, and we couldn't put it off another month, or week, or day, and just stay and get wrapped up in each other._

_"__Find a solution that makes both of us happy. Work from New York. You say that can't happen for at least a few years while you're still building the New Charter. Which I fully support. Besides, you don't need me hanging around doing nothing and being sad because I could be bettering myself. And how selfish do you think I'd feel if I held you back?"_

_Hunter sat up and leaned over me, his green eyes burning into mine. "As selfish as I'd feel leaving you for a job."_

_"__Then I guess we're at an impasse." I leaned up and kissed him softly. "This isn't for good. It's just temporary."_

_"__How long do you plan on this exactly?"_

_I shrugged. "Until I'm done with school, or you can settle down."_

_"__Neither of which is possible right now."_

_I shook my head. Sitting up, I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on, Hunter pulling me to him so tightly I felt he would break me in two._

_"__We're forever. We just need a time off." I murmured, and he gave me another squeeze and let go._

* * *

><p>"Morgan?"<p>

I opened my eyes hesitantly at the voice, and saw Winnie there, looking nervous as she stood next to my bed.

"Yeah?"

"I was just talking to Hunter, and he said he wants to come here. He was going to visit this summer anyway, back when I was just going to stay in New York. Would you mind?"

My eyes narrowed. _Of course_ I minded. Of all the scenarios I pictured in my head of seeing Hunter again, none of them ever involved another woman.

I had always had a feeling that he could move on from me – goddess knows I had my share of mistakes in the darkness of being lonely and heartbroken. But to see it so harshly, so _real_, I felt like I was losing my mind.

We were always supposed to get back together. No matter what happened in between.

And we would.

Winnie was his in-between girl. She _had_ to be. And if Hunter came _here_, I could make sure of that. Sure, it was wrong, and entirely selfish, and I'd be playing into my… _woodbane _nature, but I felt it would be okay in the long run.

She would probably never speak to me again, but it'd be worth it to have my life back on track. Fix the mistake I made three years ago. Fix _us._

How could I _not_ jump at this opportunity?

"I _guess_ I don't mind," I said, staring up at the ceiling.

Winnie came and sat on the end of my bed. "Thanks," she said softly. "And please tell me if this bothers you at all – I don't want to put you through pain, Morgan."

"I know." I said, sitting up in bed. "When is he coming?"

"In a day or so, depending on meetings. They love to keep him busy." She said with a cute laugh, and her bubbly demeanor for the first time made me want to hate her.

She was acted like a lovesick puppy, waiting for master to return. It sickened me. It should be _me_ preparing for him. Not her. Not my friend.

And… what if Hunter actually cared for her, too?

That thought sent my stomach fall. What if he was truly happy with her, because she was better for him than I was?

_Was she better_?

Goddess knows she's never put his life at risk. Never flung an athame at his neck. Never been reckless enough for him to follow. Never tried to rip him apart in the form of a wolf. Never broke up with him after he confessed his love. Never broke up with him again to be selfish.

And I had.

I had done it all and so much more.

Looking over at Winnie, with her soft, feminine features and ever-present smile, I could see how Hunter would want her. She's not at all like me; striking, not pretty, as Cal Blaire had once put it. Not irritable, not aggressive, not overly emotional. Not powerful to the extreme.

Not the destroyer.

Like me.

If I wasn't his _muìrn beatha dàn_, would he have ever wanted me? If the goddess hadn't picked us for each other, would he have found me attractive? If Cal and Selene had never come to Widow's Vale, would we have even met?

Would I even know about being a blood witch?

I tried to imagine if I would've been happy that way. Still a Rowlands, gone to MIT, married a regular person, taught math, not know why I couldn't have children with a regular person, feel like something was always missing from my life.

No. I would not have been happy that way.

"You promise you'll tell me if you feel weird about him being here?" she pressed gently.

I nodded once. "Yes." I forced a slight smile. "I'm gonna go back to sleep for a bit, okay?"

Winnie took the hint and got up, smiling cautiously at me, and shut the door behind her.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you all so much for reading and sticking with this story. My goal is to have another up later today. Reviews are greatly, <em>greatly <em>appreciated!**


	6. Chapter 6

Being a blissfully warm and relaxing summer, I had lost track of the days. I assumed today was a weekday because both my parents had rushed off to work this morning when Winnie, Mary K. and I were all lounging in the family room, dozing in and out from the all-night movie marathon.

Now it was ten in the morning. Winnie and Mary K. were still fast asleep, so I got up quietly, my skin sticking slightly to the leather. I winced and wished my parents hadn't updated the furniture when we had moved out.

I crept upstairs, feeling like I could sleep for days. As soon as I got comfortable in bed, though, I was awake. So I stared around my bedroom. Stared at the ceiling. Then decided I needed to _do_ something, anything, and got up and got dressed, even making an effort to look presentable by brushing my teeth and hair and putting on a layer or two of mascara.

In jean shorts and a black tank top, I felt decent enough for a summer day. I slid on flip flops when I got to the front door, and grabbed my purse and keys.

Das Boot sat by the curb, and I smiled at the blue hood I had yet to get painted. When I was seventeen, it had seemed like such a monumental thing to have my beautiful car look like crap. Now I actually didn't mind. It gave it character.

And it still ran like new.

Not being able to have it in the city, I had left it here and my parents took it out for drives every so often to keep it going. I cranked the engine and rolled down the windows.

I drove around my hometown for a while, stopping in at the coffee shop that had recently been converted to an actual Starbucks. Got gas. Drove around aimlessly until I found myself on the familiar road that led to Red Kill.

I had run into Alyce about two years ago in Manhattan. She was visiting with friends who owned the local Occult store that I basically resided in outside of school. I had been surprised to see her and hadn't been sure if we were on good terms, but the hug she pulled me into relieved all of those worries.

I hoped it would be like that today.

I parked at an angle in front of Practical Magick and cut the engine. The store looked exactly the same—from the outside, anyway. I got out of my car and went to the door, the bells jingling overhead. The store was fairly empty, a few teenagers in the candle aisle. A woman I didn't recognize was behind the counter, sorting crystals onto a display. She looked about my age, maybe a year or two older. Blonde hair dyed pink on the ends and in loose waves with a floral headband. White summer dress hung loosely on her thin frame. She looked light, carefree, with tattoos and a nose ring.

I had one tattoo that I had gotten on my 20th birthday—not being able to go out and drink, I had wanted something _fun_ to do.

And the fun Winnie had in mind involved the guys on our floor getting beer—really cheap beer that I drank anyway. A lot. I had been talking to this guy Riley (whose last name to this day I still didn't know) and he showed me all of his tattoos and I had thought it was the coolest thing and that I _had to get one_.

So Winnie, Riley, ten or so of random male and female floor mates, and I had gone down to a tattoo shop, and I, being of not-so-sound mind, had gotten something simple. I had gotten a voicemail from Hunter earlier that day, wishing me happy birthday and telling me he loved me, which both pained me and filled me with joy.

I had gotten a cursive "H" on my left wrist.

The morning after, when I had woken up and seen the black ink in thin lines permanently etched into my skin, I panicked a little. I had had no idea when or how or why exactly I had done it. I had also woken up in bed with Riley, both naked, and I had stumbled out of his dorm, haphazardly dressed in my outfit from the night before. I had gone to take a shower and cried, then had panicked again when I realized I didn't know how to care for a tattoo.

So, not the best birthday I'd ever had.

The first time my parents had seen it, they'd been less than thrilled. To this day, knowing both of their daughters were not virgins _and_ inked up—Mary K. had two—well, they were doing their best to show they still loved us. Whenever I brought up anything to them like taking a mythology class in lieu of English, or Women's Studies class for a social studies credit, they were mildly enthusiastic; Dad "mm'ed" and Mom said, "That's great, honey."

I casted out my senses and felt Alyce in the back. I felt awkward, standing there and not knowing if it would be an intrusion if I just walked into the back room like I owned the place.

So instead I wandered through the book aisles, trying to find something that grabbed my attention. I had worked at the bookstore on campus, and it had supplied me with the spending money I needed during the school year and summer, to which I was eternally grateful. The price for a simple herb garden tutorial book was nearly twenty-five dollars.

Sighing, I put it back. Wicca and everything like it was becoming increasingly popular. That not only meant I had people to hang out with in the city and do circles with, but also inflated prices. The laws of supply and demand were not friendly ones.

The most common books were on display and nearly out of stock. Beginner's books. Books boasting "the only Wiccan spell book you'll ever need." Books about love and good luck with boxes of white, red, and pink taper candles. Books about getting more money, with boxes of green taper candles. Beautifully bound Books of Shadows, each one unique. I picked up a sapphire blue one and thought fondly of my first BOS, the pretty, innocent cream color.

I liked this one immediately. The pages were worn, recycled paper and looked ancient, ready for my spells and thoughts to be etched in. Thirty bucks. I sighed and mentally reviewed my budget.

"Morgan!" Alyce exclaimed, coming over to me with her arms outstretched. I returned her hug immediately and felt myself relax in her comfortable familiarity. "How are you dear?" she asked, pulling back and putting her hand into mine.

"I'm okay," I said with a nod. "I'm home for the summer and wanted to stop in."

"I'm so glad you did," she said sincerely, giving me a warm smile. She glanced behind me at the display and shook her head, tsking. "I swear with how busy we've been lately, it's hard to keep up. Finn moved about a year ago, and Ellie," she gestured to the bohemian dream at the register "can't keep up. I do all the ordering and help out with customers when I can, but I think I may need to hire another clerk."

I looked around the aisles once again, the misplaced books, the ransacked displays, the crowd that seemed to grow. "I'm not doing anything this summer." I told her, and her eyebrows rose slightly. "I could use the extra money—and I was working at the campus bookstore, so I can help with inventory and stocking."

She seemed intrigued. "Well, it'd only be part time, Morgan."

I shrugged. "That's fine." I told her, the thought of actually working here sinking in. I would _love_ it. "Honestly, Alyce, it would mean a lot to me. I can give you references."

She laughed at that and put her arm around my waist, steering me over to the register. "Ellie, this is Morgan. She's going to be helping out this summer."

I resisted a squeal and squeezed Alyce hard. "Thank you!" I said instead.

Ellie smiled and put out her hand. "Glad for the help," she said, relieved, and I shook her hand. "When can you start?"

I glanced between their faces as the bells jangled once again, and about five more people came in.

* * *

><p>"What have you been up to today, sweetie?" Mom asked as she came in from work. She set her boxes down and put her work blazer on top. "The girls said you were gone all day?"<p>

I grabbed the chicken I'd been marinating for the last hour out of the fridge and the ears of corn and summer squash I'd gotten from the farmer's market after I'd left Practical Magick.

"I ran some errands over in Red Kill. Stopped by the farmer's market and got stuff for dinner." Mom looked both intrigued and thrilled at the fresh food. I could practically feel how happy she was that we weren't doing take out again.

I sliced the squash and set it on a platter with the shucked corn, rubbed oil on it all and topped it with salt and pepper. Mom got the back door for me and thoughtfully got me a pair on tongs.

I opened the hot grill and leaned back as smoke came roiling out. The evening air felt wonderful without the humidity and the grill smelled like summer and camping.

I placed the chicken breasts down onto the grill and enjoyed the sizzling and crackling as the juice from the marinade smacked onto the coals. The corn and squash fit perfectly in the gaps.

Mom went inside and came back out a few minutes later in more summer-appropriate clothes and was barefoot and clutching an iced whiskey sour. She sat down on a patio chair facing me. I knew she wanted to talk to me. I'd been home for nearly three weeks and we'd barely done more than dinner time chit-chat.

"I have some news." I told her, flipping over the chicken and vegetables.

"What's that?" she asked, taking a sip.

"I got a job." I told her, a smile forming on my face.

"Oh, sweetie that's wonderful!" she exclaimed. "When do you start?"

"Tomorrow. It's for a couple of hours every day." I closed the lid and took a seat next to her. "It's at Practical Magick, with Alyce. You remember meeting Alyce, right?"

Mom nodded, not being able to come up with a false smile. I felt my heart sink slightly. She put her hand on mine. "You know we haven't always been okay with Wicca. And you know we still aren't the biggest fans. But we love you more than our dislike for it. All I want is for you to be happy, and to be successful in whatever you do. If you want this to be your summer job, then I fully support it."

"You do?" I asked, surprised.

"Of course, Morgan. I love you, and I'll always defend your beliefs, even if they aren't mine. I'm sorry for how we treated you when you were younger. High school is such a difficult time, and you were learning who you were, and we didn't help anything."

I squeezed her hand. "Mom, you don't have to be sorry. It freaked you out, still does, I'm sure." I grinned, and she laughed lightly. "I never wanted to disappoint you or Dad, but this is how I want to live my life."

Mom leaned forward and kissed my cheek. "You could never disappoint us, Morgan. Never."

I blinked back the tears that were forming and nodded, grateful that even though she wasn't blood, she was my mom and she loved me.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you all for reading, hope the story is getting better! Working on chapter 7 now, and hopefully I'll have it up tonight. I've posted two today, so spread the love by hitting review and you will get yourself a nice little shout-out in the next chapter!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

Stocking and organized the shelves at Practical Magick was a breeze. I got all of the books into their rightful places under category and then sorted alphabetically. I helped Ellie build the displays back up and helped customers find items while she had been swamped with the register.

It felt good, _right_, to be working here with my old friend and surrounded by the books that helped to shape me into the witch I was today.

I hadn't been in a coven since Kithic disbanded after high school. I had circles with other witches I went to school with or met around the city. It was fun, nothing informative or challenging. Nothing hugely powerful.

Just fun. I had begun to realize how it must've felt for the non-blood witches in my coven in high school. A rush of energy, of peace, feeling a connection with something bigger than yourself—and I could absolutely see why more and more kids are doing it. They probably had no idea about blood witches.

The groups of three-to-five girls who would laugh at the penis candles. The ones who would ransack the jewelry and buy whatever _Seventeen_ and _Teen Vogue_ told them to. The one or two serious girls in the groups who would stop and ask me or Alyce or Ellie about candle magick or how to start a book of shadows.

I kind of envied them a little bit. At the beginning, after Cal's first Cirrus circle, I had felt such a humongous draw to the craft, and it had felt incredible, like I was having my eyes opened for the first time. There was nothing dark about it back then—that I knew of, anyway. I was falling in love for the first time, I was discovering myself.

I thought back to my first Samhain, how I had danced around, made flowers bloom, felt magick in everything that I touched, and wondered that if Cal had never grounded me, told me I was a blood witch, gave me my first kiss.

Would I have ever learned I was a blood witch?

I would always feel a sense of gratitude and guilt when it came to Cal. Despite everything, he hadn't deserved to die for me. Though he'd tried to kill me. He had been the one to open the door for me. Without him, I wouldn't know any of this. I'd have never gotten Maeve's BOS, never have met Hunter.

I felt a familiar pang. The love of my life was with my friend. I just wish I could see him and hold him and tell him I'm sorry.

And I was sorry. He hadn't deserved any of this. I mean, God, I'd almost caused his death on multiple occasions! If he wanted someone else, I had no room to try and change his mind. Right?

The bells continued to jingle as people came in and out. I was getting used to the sounds of Practical Magick. The door, the register, the giggles, the gasps.

It was comforting.

I was in the back sorting the new inventory. Alyce was making tea and writing the ingredients to the concoction down.

As I sat at the little table, organizing and checking the items off the list, I felt my senses prickle, and my stomach sank.

Alyce's intent gaze on her writing faltered slightly, and she glanced to the front of the store. I breathed out softly and set the list and pen down and got up.

"See you tomorrow," she said with a soft smile, and I sighed and walked out into the shop.

Hunter Niall, all six-foot-plus of blonde goodness, was standing at the register and talking to Ellie. He tensed slightly as I approached and glanced over at me.

"Morgan," he said, sounding slightly surprised. "I suppose I'm not entirely surprised to see you here." He gestured around the shop.

I shrugged. "I work here. Didn't Winifred tell you?"

He shook his head. "Haven't seen her yet,"

Ellie looked mildly uncomfortable, and I gestured outside, and Hunter followed me out to my car. I was parked in the back of the building between Ellie's beat up red Jetta and dense woods. It was already hot at ten in the morning.

As we got in, I felt every nasty bit of tension in the stuffy air around us. I rolled down the windows and turned to face him.

"Why are you here, Hunter?" I asked, folding my hands in my lap. My legs were already sticking slightly to the vinyl seats.

"Well, it seems the girl I'm dating is your friend. I planned on seeing her anyway."

"And hurting me in the process."

Hunter just looked at me calmly. I was out of line, and we both knew it. "What do you want? Do you want me to dump her? To work in New York, to start a life with you? I'm not going to play guessing games with you, Morgan."

"That's sick." I muttered. "I would never feel right about you hurting her like that. She _loves_ you!" I argued.

"So do _you_. Morgan, of course I never would have been with someone you knew. It happened, and I'm so sorry for that. But she knows what this is. She knows I don't love her."

"That doesn't make all of this okay. I feel _horrible_ about this. I'm betraying my friend. I'm hurting everyone."

Hunter groaned and ran his hand through his short spiky hair, tousling it up more.

I tried hard not to think about his after sex hair, I really did.

Like a skilled hunter after its prey, he pounced on my weakness for him and grabbed me, hard, and kissed me. My mouth opened to him like the traitor it was and I wrapped my hand around his neck to bring him closer to me, to drink him in even more.

His strong hand gripped my exposed thigh by the hem of my jean shorts and wrapped it around his waist, pushing me down onto the seat beneath him. It was like two puzzle pieces coming together, perfectly in sync with each other.

The slight effort from our new position had me sweating, and I felt relief at the momentary pause as he lifted my white T-shirt over my head. He kissed me again, and I pressed against him, my back arching, pressing my breasts firmly against him as his hand worked to skillfully unclasp my bra. Hunter bit my bottom lip softly and I whimpered in response, closing my eyes against the sheer goodness of this feeling, of his roaming hands, of his lips moved to my neck.

I was panting hard, feeling my body reawaken to his touch, his lips, his… that got my attention, and I suddenly felt like I had ice water dumped on me.

Hunter, realizing I'd stopped, leaned up slightly, one hand firmly on my breast and the other by my zipper.

"I can't do this if you're with Winnie." I whispered, and he sighed and kissed my collarbone. He nodded and got off of me, pulling me up into a sitting position. He reached over the back of the seat and retrieved my plain white padded bra from the floor of the back seat. He watched me put it back on and handed me my shirt.

"I liked it better when you didn't wear one," he said, glancing at my more-developed breasts.

I smiled, in spite of the situation, and put on my shirt. I leaned back against the driver's door and rested my legs across his lap.

"I'm going to end it."

"Try not to hurt her. She doesn't deserve it." I said instead of what a good, selfless person would have said.

But I've never exactly been good or selfless.

"Follow me back to my place? She should be awake by then."

Hunter nodded and shifted me off of him and got out of Das Boot. I slid upright into my seat and cranked the engine.

* * *

><p>Hunter arrived a couple of minutes after I did in his shiny black rental, and I felt tension reenter my body. I felt like I was going to vomit.<p>

Wordlessly, he followed me inside and was met by a flash of reddish-gold hair hurling herself at him.

"I can't believe you're here!" she squealed, arms gripped around his neck like a vise. She brought her lips to his, and I winced. This was not going to be easy.


	8. Chapter 8

Today felt like I was living in an episode of _The Twilight Zone_.

I all but forced Hunter and Winnie out the door to get them out of my sight, and Winnie, somehow, was blissfully unaware of the tension. Mary K. went out to the backyard every so often and come back to tell me what she saw.

"You know how weird this is?" Mary K. said, looking uncomfortable as she grabbed a peach Snapple out of the fridge. "Why would he just show up here?" she glanced out the kitchen window.

"He didn't really. I ran into him at Practical Magick and kind of invited him over." Now _I _was the uncomfortable one as I felt Mary K.'s eyes on me. I turned away from the book I had been trying to read and got up from the kitchen table. "It's four o'clock, what do you want for dinner?"

Mary K. just stared at me. "What do I want for dinner?" she hissed. "Morgan, Hunter is—"

"It's complicated!"

She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the counter as I turned away and started to scan the fridge. "How could he do this to you, and you be okay with it?"

I grabbed a package of ground beef and started to go through the cupboards, having to shift a stony Mary K. out of my way to grab seasonings.

"Morgan," she said quietly.

I sighed and set the food down. "He's breaking up with her."

She glanced out the window again. "Doesn't look like it."

"That's the complicated part. This is all super awkward for all of us—except Winnie, I guess."

"Well, he'd better get of dodge soon. Mom should be home any time now, and I'm guessing she won't want to see their little display in her yard." Mary K. grabbed a frying pan for me and set it on the stove, then got out vegetables from the fridge and went to work.

* * *

><p>After Hunter had left and Winnie had gone to bed on the couch in the family room, it was a restless night. Dagda slept soundly in my lap, purring away while I read a book on crystal healing. I had to get serious about Wicca again. I couldn't go on much longer being the "uninitiated prodigy." I wouldn't be able to work as a healer or become a high priestess—a role in which I'd have to be an active coven member.<p>

At around three-thirty, I felt my parents start to wake up and get moving, my mom much quicker than my dad. They had an early flight to Chicago to visit their old college friends and would be gone for ten days.

If this trip hadn't been planned for months, I would've sworn outside forces were at work. My parents had no idea Hunter was in town, and I preferred to keep it that way. I had no idea what they would say if they knew he was here. Mom firmly believes he had broken my heart and not the other way around.

It would take a while for them to let him back in.

Twenty minutes later, I heard footsteps on the stairs, followed by the front door opening as soundlessly as possible. I cast out my senses and felt my dad outside and then the familiar sound of his Volvo starting up.

Mom knocked softly and cracked my door open. "Honey? What're you still doing up?"

I waved the book. "Couldn't sleep."

"I don't want you to be too tired for work."

I stretched, arching my back and forcing Dagda from his tightly wound position. He grumbled at me and sprang off the bed, gliding past my mom's legs out the door.

"I'm off today. I'll sleep later."

Mom opened her mouth to say something but hesitated. "Okay." She forced a smile. "We're heading out now."

"I'll walk you guys out." I got out of bed, my legs stiff. I followed her down the stairs, my dad just coming back in for the rest of the bags to take out to the car.

The warm summer night had a slight breeze, and I was comfortable in a light t-shirt and pajama shorts, my hair up in a messy bun. I grabbed a suitcase and followed them to the car. My dad took it from me and put it in the trunk with the rest and shut it firmly.

"Bye Morgan," Dad said, giving me a side hug and kissing the top of my head. He got into the driver's seat and rolled the windows down.

"Bye," I replied, letting my mom fold me into a tight hug. "I'll make sure Mary K. doesn't throw any ragers."

Mom groaned and pulled back, shaking her head. "Rules apply to you too, miss."

"Yes ma'am," I said with a nod.

She opened her door and set her purse in. "Love you, sweetie."

"Love you, too,"

She shut her door and my dad pulled smoothly out of the driveway.

I turned to go back into the house.

"Morgan."

I jumped, startled, and spun quickly to see Hunter by his car at the curb. I walked over to him, crossing my arms over my chest as another cool breeze swept me from head to toe.

"What're you doing here?"

He shrugged, leaning against the passenger door. "Couldn't sleep."

I raised my eyebrows a fraction. "So you're just hanging outside my place until morning then?"

"Winnie told me your parents were leaving this morning. I figured I'd wait till they were gone and send you a witch message. Lucky for me you were already outside and couldn't ignore me."

"Where are you staying anyway?"

"Back at the old place. Sky and Raven stay there most of the year—when they're not fighting." He rolled his eyes and I smirked.

"Never dull with those two."

"No," he agreed with a grin. Hunter looked at me then, solemnly, and I felt my heart skip a beat. He grabbed my hand with one of his and urged me closer. "I've really missed you."

I nodded. "Me too." I let him lace his fingers in mine, and I put a hand around his neck and went on tiptoe to kiss him lightly on the lips. He met me halfway. "How'd it go with Winnie?" I asked when we separated.

"Harder than I thought it would be. She wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise."

I sighed. "I meant what I said, Hunter. I won't do this if you're still with her."

"I know, love. It'll be soon. I promise."


	9. Chapter 9

Riding in Bree's newest temperamental German engineered vehicle on the way to New York was not how I had planned to spend my first day parent-free. Especially when I was going on two hours of sleep and a caffeine high, with Robbie arguing with Bree from the backseat.

"Morgan, help me out here." Robbie insisted indignantly, crossing his well-sculpted arms over his chest. Between the toned and muscled body, the gorgeous face, and the entitled attitude, I hardly recognized him anymore.

I finished off my coffee and set the cup down next to Bree's. "I'm sorry, Robbie, I wasn't listening."

"Nor should you be," Bree replied, flicking an irritated glance to Robbie. "I offered to let you come with us to go shopping for _our_ child—not to get a ride into the city to see your girlfriend."

"You'll have to meet her eventually." He replied with less fire. I had the feeling this wasn't the first time this conversation had taken place.

"Not for at least a year or two."

"How do you figure?"

Bree honked at a car that just cut us off, making me jump. I glanced past her and saw the skyline. I was not ready to be back yet.

"Bree?" he nudged her.

"I have no intention on meeting her while I'm pregnant. After I have the baby, it'll be at least a year before you can take her overnight, therefore I have a long time before I have to scope her out. And who knows? You'll probably be broken up by then anyway."

Robbie snorted. "That's what you're hoping? What, that I'll want you back?"

My mouth opened in astonishment. The Robbie I knew _worshiped_ Bree! He was sounding like such an ass. "What is wrong with you?" I demanded, turning in my seat to face him.

"Don't you dare jump in now." He said, stone-faced. "You know she got pregnant on purpose?" he asked, and I narrowed my eyes slightly. I knew Bree. I may not have known Robbie as well as I thought I did, but I knew Bree down to the core. She would never trap someone else. "Yeah. She knew I was done, that I had met Anne, and she lured me in again."

"Oh, that's it," Bree interjected. "I'm a wicked witch who lured you like the child you are into my gingerbread house."

"I wouldn't be surprised if that's exactly what you did." He spat, and then shifted his stare to me. "You were probably in on it. Gave her a potion or two."

All I could do was shake my head and face the road. Bree's knuckles were white on the wheel and her dark eyes clouded with tears she refused to shed.

"No, that's not it. If you could make a potion, you'd still have Hunter, right?"

I felt my stomach tighten. I couldn't believe his audacity.

Robbie huffed in annoyance and started drumming his fingers on the door handle. "Sorry." He muttered. Whether it was to me or Bree, it didn't matter. Neither of us would've accepted it.

We were silent while Bree navigated and eventually parked on a side street. Bree cleared her throat and delicately wiped underneath her eyes with her fingertips. "You can find Anne from here, right?"

"We're in Brooklyn." He argued.

"What I'm looking for is _in_ Brooklyn. Figure it out." She cut the engine and opened her door. Robbie and I got out, and he reached into her door to open the trunk. He walked to the back of his car, grabbed his bag, and left without a word.

I shut the trunk and went around to Bree, who was sobbing into the steering wheel, her hands resting limply on her lap. I crouched down and pulled her into a hug, and she leaned her forehead on my shoulder and wept, wrapping her arms around me.

Her smooth, medium-length hair brushed my cheek as she pulled back. "I hate him like this." She cried. "He's never had a mean bone in his body and all of a sudden he's a different person. I don't understand."

I reached into my purse and grabbed a package of Kleenex. She took them gratefully and flipped down her visor to use the mirror.

"Anne is such a bitch." She muttered. "I found documents in his bag pertaining to custody that she had had drawn out for him." She took a deep breath. "So I called him out on it. He got angry. Really angry." She flipped the visor back up. "I'm actually afraid of him taking her away from me," her voice cracked at the end, and it started a new round of tears. "I may only have her for the next few months." She blew her nose. "A part of me thinks that she'll be fine, that he'll take good care of her because I know a part of him deep down still loves me, and that Anne's family is well off so she'll never go without." She leaned her head back against her seat. "Then the other part of me is angry that I would think that." She let out a laugh. "I mean, it was so easy for my mom to leave, right? Who's to say I wouldn't do that to her? And if I did, wouldn't it just be better if she never knew me?"

I felt tears prickle my eyes and I shook my head. "There are times when I get so…angry. At Maeve for giving me up. For not telling Ciaran about me, for them not getting it together and raising me. But I'm so appreciative for the family I have. I love what I have. But there's nothing I wouldn't give to have known her. I'll never get to, not in this life." I sniffled and wiped my eyes. "And I know you'd regret it every day if you did what your mom did."

She nodded.

She grabbed her purse and took the keys out of the ignition. I stood up and stepped to the side so she could get out. After setting the alarm, she started to guide us down the street.

"Caroline said there was a really cute shop over here with handmade baby clothes. I wanted to check it out." Caroline was her father's girlfriend's daughter who was twenty-five, with two kids of her own. It was still hard to wrap my mind around it.

"Cool," I replied, giving her a smile as we walked. Bree's front had expanded a lot in the last several weeks, and being five months pregnant, she still held the feminine grace and posture of a runway model. I admired her for looking so cool and collected after a breakdown. Her large sunglasses covered nearly half of her face, her skin was already returning to his clear ivory tone. She wore a white top sleeveless top tucked into long pleated skirt in a dusty rose down to her gold sandals. A dark brown hat matching her hair completed the outfit.

And here I was in a t-shirt and shorts. Not graceful, not elegant, not from a page of a fashion magazine.

But at least I wasn't twenty-one and pregnant.

* * *

><p>After three trips down to the garage to get all of her purchases, we crashed onto the wooden floor of Bree's new apartment. It was large and open, filled with light, and was at least a hundred years old. I was in love with the high ceilings, the crown molding, the original tiles in the kitchen and bathroom.<p>

I was surprised Bree had picked it. It was vastly different than her father's apartment in the city, not at all modernized.

She set about grabbing paper plates and brought over the pizza we'd bought on the way here and some waters.

"I'm surprised Winnie didn't want to come." She said through a mouthful.

"She's with Hunter, actually. He's back in town."

Bree raised her eyebrows. "Have you seen him yet?"

I nodded and picked at the crust of my slice. "He'll be breaking up with her soon. Today would actually be a good day to just get it done." I sighed, thinking about what I had just said. How many times has a man told the other woman he'd be leaving his wife or girlfriend? More importantly, how many times did the man actually follow through?

But this was Hunter.

"Morgan," she said with an upward inflection.

"I know." I raised my hands in defeat.

"Okay…" she said in that tone again, and I suppressed a sigh.

Why did things have to be so complicated?

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks to all who keep reading, and a special thank you for the review! I'll work on the next chapter and hopefully have it out in a day or two.<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

When Bree dropped me off that night, I felt a storm lurking nearby. I glanced up at the sky and only saw stars and a bright white sliver of a crescent moon, waning into the new moon. If I were casting a spell, this would be a great time to work magick to limit things, to banish things, and as I approached the front door, I could feel the storm hit.

Winnie stood at the entry way, arms across her chest. Her bags were packed, the sides bulging out as if she had just tossed everything in without a care.

"Just so we're clear," she hissed as soon as the door was shut behind me. "I'm _not_ giving up. You won't have him for long, I'll make damn sure of that."

"Win—"

She stepped forward and slapped me so hard it knocked the wind out of me. "You don't know what you've done."

She grabbed her bags and stormed outside. Mary K. came out of the living room, her keys in hand. "I'm giving her a ride to the bus station. We can talk later." She rested her hand on my shoulder briefly as she went past me through the open door.

I shut it softly and sank down it, sitting in a heap on the floor. Dagda sat in front of me, looking at me with his wise cat eyes, and I began to cry.

* * *

><p>"Stop!" I pushed back against Hunter as his lips assaulted my neck. "I mean it, I'm working." I grabbed the list and opened the next box, carefully checking each box and book off.<p>

His hands roamed down my side and snaked to my hips, tugging my shorts down ever so slightly, his thumbs in the belt loops. I had to admit it felt _really_ good, and I considered taking advantage of the store being empty and letting Hunter have his evil way with me.

"Ahem," We flew apart from each other, looking ridiculously guilty as Ellie stood in the back door. "Well good morning, love birds."

I blushed and tried to look casual. "Hey."

"I'll pick you up at noon then?" he asked, looking for an out. I nodded and he gave me a quick kiss before leaving out the back.

"You two are so adorable." She said matter-of-factly, taking a seat at the table.

"Shut up." I muttered, and she grinned and dug through her bag. I returned to boxes and bags of books and supplies and checked off the items that were there and adding on what wasn't listed.

Ellie came up behind me and started dabbing my neck with a sponge. "What're you doing?"

"Saving your ass. You were a little rosy here." She clicked her compact closed and shoved the makeup back into her bag. "Do you often get hot and heavy in the supply room? This place doesn't do it for me, but hey, to each their own."

"We have plans after work, so he just dropped me off and stayed for a bit."

"Ah, okay then." She glanced at the clock and let out a breath. "I wish you were full time, too. Eight hours a day every day is not for me." She lifted her hair into a loose ponytail, her ends more magenta than usual.

"I have to go back to school in a couple months." I said regretfully. I felt more fulfilled working here than I had in three years of college.

Ellie groaned at that, pulling some stray pieces out to frame her face. "Has Alyce told you about the second store?"

"What?" I asked, turned quickly from what I was doing.

She squeezed some lotion into her hands and threw the bottle into her bag then started to work it in. "Well, she's paid this place off and is just about to sign a deal over in Taunton. It'll be bigger, and more people live there so probably more business. I think she'll keep this place and hire one or two more people to help me out here but she'll be moving with it."

"A new Practical Magick?" I asked faintly. This place was a constant in my life—I didn't know if I could handle a change with it.

So Alyce would be gone. At the new store. And Ellie would be here and what? Running the place? I liked her a lot but all she knew was working a register and organizing shelves—there was more to running a store than that.

And what would Ellie change? I remembered her conversations of discussing plans to Alyce and thought it would resemble a storefront to the likes of a Claire's and shuddered. I couldn't let that happen here—not to my second home. I couldn't handle another huge change in my life right now.

* * *

><p>Two hours later the initial crowd had died down, and I was working up the nerve to ask Alyce about the new store. She was in the back, copying a spell down into her personal BOS, and I waited till she smiled at me before entering and closing the curtain behind me.<p>

She noticed this and set her pen down, a bemused expression on her face. "Is everything alright, Morgan?"

I swallowed hard. "Ellie mentioned something this morning, and I'm sure it's wildly inappropriate of me to impose an opinion in this, but I feel like I have to."

Alyce lead me to a seat and she sat across from me, holding my hand on the table. "What is this about?" she asked softly.

"A new store?" I said, and her eyes looked sad.

"I didn't want to say anything until it was a done deal, but yes, there will be a new store, and I'll be running it."

I nodded slightly to the store behind the curtain, a silent question.

"I haven't officially made my decision. I would much rather have a blood witch run the shop, and Ellie knows this but I'm sure she's hoping it won't affect her."

"If you're looking for a blood witch, Alyce, I want to do it. Please." I knew I sounded desperate but was hoping it would help me in the long run. I couldn't lose this place.

Alyce's eyes widened slightly, as if this idea hadn't occurred to her. "Morgan—"

"Please," I begged. "Just think about it."

"You have school, Morgan. I couldn't ask you to give that up so you could work at a little shop the rest of your life."

"You're not asking, I'm offering. Alyce, please, I can't bear to think what would happen to this place if one of us isn't a part of it," I let out a deep breath, trying to compose myself. "I'm done with school in December anyway—I have enough credits from all the summer classes I've done. I know this place inside and out. I want to be here. However, if you think there's someone else who can run this place, then I understand. Just please think about it."

Alyce squeezed my hand. "I will." She glanced at my watch on my wrist and looked up. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

I nodded and tried to smile. I stood up from my chair, grabbed my bag, and went out through the front to wait for Hunter.


	11. Chapter 11

"You'd think your parents got you this tiny bed to avoid this." Hunter said with a grin, and I laughed. We were practically still joined on my narrow bed, naked, and completely out of breath.

I leaned forward and kissed him. His hand pushed at my lower back, making me arch closer into him. He turned us so that I was underneath him. "You don't fight fair." I breathed shallowly, feeling a thousand nerves sparking inside of me as we started again.

Hunter groaned softly, gently biting my neck as he went. I looked up at my ceiling dimly, casting my senses all around us, hearing our mingled, heavy breathing, the faint creak of my bed as we moved, the chirping birds outside my open bedroom window.

It was a haven I had missed fiercely. He felt so good, so right, and I wanted to have him with me like this forever.

* * *

><p>When I got out of the shower, I could hear Hunter downstairs sounding annoyed on the phone. I threw on a shirt and a pair of underwear and combed through my wet hair.<p>

Hunter had just hung up when I got to the kitchen. He was cooking, and it smelled like heaven.

"Who was that?" I asked, reaching into the fridge for a Diet Coke. He pulled me to him and lifted me up onto the counter, stepping in-between my legs.

I couldn't have been more thrilled for my parents' trip at that moment.

"Work," he replied, sounding bored. "We're sorting out the New York office, and it's maddening." He kissed my neck softly where he'd bitten it earlier, the patch of skin red and purple.

"New York is really happening?" I asked guardedly. I didn't want to get my hopes up.

Hunter nodded, his eyes filled with mischievous intent. "Now you can't argue with me."

My eyes narrowed. "Au contraire, my love. I can always start a fight with you." I kissed him quickly and pulled back before he could respond. "In fact," I started lifting my shirt up. "I think you like it that way."

His hands impatiently pulled the fabric over my head. I bent my head for him to kiss me but he didn't. Instead, he trailed his lips down my neck, between my breasts, down my stomach and back up again until, finally, his lips connected with mine.

The back door opened, and we jumped, not having sensed it.

"Really?" Mary K. made a mock disapproving face at us. "In the kitchen."

I slipped my shirt back on, grinning at her. "We figured you'd be uncomfortable with us using your bed."

She laughed and shook her head, dropping her purse onto the kitchen table and sitting down.

* * *

><p>Hunter and I had driven to New York City the next morning. He had to deal with work, and I was helping Bree with her new place.<p>

"So…?"

"So, what?" I asked, having just come back up from taking a load of boxes down to the recycling bins.

"You and Hunter?"

"Are great." I said, going over to the sink to wash my hands.

Bree grinned at me and leaned against the smooth marble countertop. "How great?"

"Voyeur." I accused, and she laughed. "We're reconnecting well."

"I bet," she said, unscrewing the lid of her San Pellegrino.

I giggled, drying my hands on a tea towel. "I'm just glad he's here. He's staying." Bree waited, sipping from the chilled bottle with raised eyebrows. "No, really."

"Where will you live?" she asked. "You're still in school, you work part time. How will you afford the city?"

"We're looking at places this afternoon." I opened up a package of plates and bowls from Ikea and started loading them into the dishwasher.

"So his money then?" she set her bottle down on the counter and sat on a bar stool.

I tossed the now empty box onto the pile of boxes in the dining room. "I guess." I said, not looking at her.

"You're okay with that?"

"It's not that big of a deal right now." I said sheepishly, wishing she'd drop this. I didn't ask Hunter about money—never really feeling like it was my business.

I knew he was doing pretty well in general, and I didn't care to go beyond that.

Bree bit her lip, a sign of nervousness she rarely ever portrayed. "You think we're moving too fast?" I asked.

"A little, yeah. But, I mean, it's not _my_ relationship—I just want you to have your bases covered. That's all." She sighed. "Like if you two were to ever get into another fight, or decide it's not working, everything will be in his name. You'll have nothing. Are you okay with that?"

I leaned across the counter and grabbed her bottle, taking a deep swig of the fizzy water. I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand and handed it back to her.

"It's not like that. I know with how Robbie screwed you over it can seem like all guys are untrustworthy, but Hunter and I are in good places right now. We're _finally_ in sync with each other—I have to try."

Bree looked at me with a steady calculation and seemed to let it go after a moment. "Well, worst case scenario, you can live here and be my nanny."

I laughed.

* * *

><p>"How much further?" I groaned. The summer humidity was miserable this evening, and I wanted to do nothing but lay in front of an AC and wait out the days until fall.

Hunter grabbed my hand and pulled me beside him for another block before stopping in front of a large apartment building. I glanced up at him speculatively.

He let go of my hand and opened the door for me, and I wandered in with narrowed eyes at him. I paused inside the lobby, and then went with him into the elevator.

"Is the suspense killing you?" Hunter asked with a grin, pushing the button for the fourth floor.

"Completely."

As the elevator rose, he laced his fingers in mine, and I felt some of the tension melt away. I trusted him.

When the doors opened, he led me down a hallway to a door reading 415 and pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door.

"I thought we were going to look together?" I asked, trying not to let him hear the disappointment in my voice.

But he knew me too well. "I've been in the process of buying this for weeks. Just closed this morning. If you hate it, we'll find something else." His eyes were pleading with me, and I let go of my annoyance and nodded.

Then his words sunk in as he turned the doorknob. "Wait," I said, grabbing his hand. "Weeks?"

He didn't meet my eyes for a few seconds. "When Winnie told me about you." My breath escaped me with a harsh whoosh, and I wanted to sit down.

"So, what? You knew I'd fall for you again?"

"No," he replied coolly. "I knew that if there was a chance I could see you, make things right with you, that I'd have to figure out a way to be here."

I felt my throat close. It had been so long since he was vulnerable like this.

"Okay," I said, nodding, and let him lead me in.

Within seconds, my eyes adjusted to the dark room. The building across the street glowed faintly with the setting sun, leaving a cool shadow on the hardwood floors. The kitchen to the right was nice and open—rare, I thought, for this part of the city. The crown molding suggested it was older, as did the roughed up floors. But all this added character.

I didn't bother turning on lights as I went, exploring the two bedrooms, bathrooms, and study—all of which were empty and white walled. Definite potential. My magesight focused in on all of the little details. The bathrooms had been renovated, as with the kitchen. A good mix of old and new.

I met him back out in the living room and leaned against one of the large windows, opposite him at the front door.

"I love it," I told him honestly. I didn't want to fight. I didn't want to make a big deal out of an amazing gesture. "But I have some… conditions." I added, hoping he would listen.

He seemed calm enough. "I want to pay rent."

"Unnecessary." He said, and I narrowed my eyes.

"In addition to my part of utility bills. And any pet deposit you deem acceptable. I think the going rate is $250 for cats?"

Hunter came over to me, wrapping me in his arms, and I looked up at him. "Yes to utilities, yes to your cat. Any other conditions?"

"I want to paint. Asylum White will give me a headache."

He kissed me in response, and I felt myself open to him. I loved him.


End file.
